The hardest day that began at 4:21 am this morning came to an end at 8:36 pm. I say it’s the hardest day for a couple of reasons. For one, it’s a total shock to your body when it decides it’s breakfast or lunch time and you don’t satisfy its cravings. For me it takes a few days for my body to adjust before the breakfast and lunch time cravings disappear and I barely feel anything the whole day. The other adjustment is sleep. It’s not everyday where you wake up in the middle of the night, have a large breakfast and then try to sleep again. Lastly, since Ramadan starts 10 days earlier every year, the first day of each year is the longest fast I have ever done. This will continue to be the case until Ramadan begins prior to the Summer Solstice.
I’ll try to mention my hunger levels and sleep adjustment over the next few days. There was no workout today either since I wanted to take the first day for my body to sort of get used to the adjusted diet and schedule. Now, on to the food!
For Sahoor
The first Sahoor has mixed feelings. You’re usually energetic enough because of the excitement of Ramadan starting, yet eating a lot is so difficult because your stomach is confused. So today I didn’t do anything fancy. I made an omelette using 2 egg yokes and about 4 egg whites. For the egg whites, I go to Wegmans and buy a carton of pure egg whites. It has no additives and tastes just like normal eggs. For the omelette I cut up a quarter onion, half a tomato, and a little bit of green pepper. I added a bit of sea salt and chili powder to it as well. I cooked it using extra virgin olive oil.
The omelette was joined on the plate with another cut up tomato and half of an avocado. Oh and since I love my spices, I added some Sriracha sauce to the plate.
For those that know me, you already know that you are going to see avocados a lot this month. They are really good for you and extremely filling. It’s not a lot to eat but it will carry you.
As Sahoor time was coming to a close, I chugged down about 50 ounces of water. This was extremely difficult. I’m used to drinking over a gallon of water a day but drinking even 32 ounces proved to be a challenge.
For Iftar
Ah yes, my favorite meal time! So part of the point of this blog is to show that healthy Paleo dishes can be made without requiring a lot of time. Today’s dish took no more than 30 minutes to prepare.
Chicken with Shallots and Sweet Potatoes
- 2 medium sized sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in 2″ pieces (I used organic)
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 Tbs chili powder
- 1 Tbs coconut oil
- 2 6ish oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
- 2 shallots, sliced into thick rings
- 1 Tbs fresh rosemary, chopped
- 1 Tbs of cumin
- 1 tomato, diced
- Chaat masala, to taste
1. Wash and chop sweet potatoes into a pot and add in cold water.
2. Place the pot on a stove and let the water boil. Once it starts to boil, add 1 tsp sea salt and reduce heat. Let it simmer until they are tender. Skip to step 4 while this happens and then come back to step 3 in about 10-12 minutes.
3. Drain the water but keep about a 1/4 cup in the pot. If you like the skin, leave it, otherwise peel the skin off and mash the potatoes.
4. Meanwhile, season chicken with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and chili powder.
5. Heat coconut oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.
6. When pan is hot, add sliced shallots and rosemary and cook for a minute.
7. Add chicken to the pan and pan-fry until golden brown and fully cooked. When it’s almost done, add in the diced tomatoes and cumin.
8. Serve with mashed sweet potatoes on the side. Sprinkle chaat masala on top of the sweet potatoes.
I added a bit of salad to the plate and it was satisfying. The chaat masala on sweet potatoes might be a little unorthodox but give it a shot.
That’s it for tonight. Tomorrow will be my first workout while fasting. I will probably make it a strength day but we’ll see what happens. Stay tuned!
One Fit Ramadan 